Reading books to children daily helps to develop important early
speech sounds, pre-reading skills, vocabulary and basic concepts. Did
you know that reciting nursery rhymes and singing children’s songs also helps to improve these
important developmental areas? It’s true! The cadence, rhyme, and repetition of words in
nursery rhymes and children’s songs help develop an awareness of speech sounds. By singing
songs loaded with early developing sounds such as p, b, t, d, k, g, and m, you give them a “head
start” to great listening and speaking skills.

The following ten common nursery rhymes and/or children’s songs are ideal for targeting
early developing speech sounds. The number of times a sound occurs in each song/nursery
rhyme is listed below.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

p - 8b - 2t - 9d - 10

k - 4g - 1m - 4

Pat-A-Cake

p - 5b - 5t - 9d - 3

k - 11g - 0m - 4

Jack Be Nimble

p - 1b - 4t - 1d - 1

k - 5g - 0m - 2

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

p - 7b - 0t - 9d - 10

k - 5g - 0m -04

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

p - 2b - 2t - 8d - 1

k - 6g - 1m - 2

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

p - 2b - 2t - 8d - 1

k - 6g - 1m -02

Little Bo Peep

p - 3b - 2t - 6d - 3

k - 2g - 2m - 5

Little Miss Muffet

p - 1b - 2t - 9d - 7

k - 2g - 2m - 5

Once you get used to stressing the early developing sounds, you’ll begin to notice them in
many other songs and nursery rhymes. Be aware of these sounds and stress them when
speaking to your child, often allowing him/her to look at your face while listening. Be a
good speech model, and you will help your child have excellent speech and language skills!